Having just spent the last two weeks back in Denmark, I obviously couldn’t help myself from browsing through the classic cars currently for sale on the Danish market. Needless to say, as home is now the UK, there really isn’t much point in looking at MG’s and Triumph’s. But how about a Yank Tank?
Buying a classic Yank from somewhere in Europe, is just a whole lot less hassle than picking one up from the USA. For starters, when a European enthusiast buys a classic from the US, it will most likely be sight unseen, which is really never going to be ideal. Secondly, you also save the cost of shipping your newly acquired toy across the Atlantic, and then there are the import taxes which vary a little depending on which country you ship the car too, but they are inevitable none the less. So here’s the ViaRETRO top-tip of the day: If you’re looking for a Yank, try the European market first, before trawling through Craigslist. So that’s what I did – even though it was a hypothetical exercise in my case, as I’m not in the market for a Yank just now…
We all know that estates – or wagons – are the new black within classic cars. So if you want to be the trendiest of grumpy-old-men-with-a-weird-hobby, forget about the stylish coupés and sexy roadsters, and get yourself a classic old family-friendly loadhauler instead! What I came across here, even brings it up yet another notch on the cool-factor, as it’s got a massive 7.2 liter – that’s of course a “four-forty” in Yank-speak – V8 under the bonnet. It’s not even just the engine which is colossal, but the whole car! At 18ft. 9” (or 5m 70cm) in length and about 4800 lbs (or 2180 kg.). it’s a good thing that shipping it across the Atlantic isn’t going to be your responsibility, as this wagon will probably just about take up all the space on the cargo ship on its own.
The landyacht in question is a 1972 Chrysler New Yorker 440 Town & Country in an appealing two-tone green, which depending on your perspective, maybe sadly or maybe luckily, has lost those oh-so-kitsch vinyl wood panels down the flanks. The selling dealer claims only 45,000 miles and two owners, and the wagon is apparently 100% original except for the paintwork and aforementioned lacking wood-grain effect vinyl. The dark green vinyl interior is especially charming, and would no doubt be a lovely place to gather the whole family or a group of mutually car-obsessed friends on a long roadtrip. Just make sure to bring someone with a well-funded creditcard for the gas-guzzling V8! The Chrysler even has aircon to further enhance that roadtrip – should you decide to head for the south of France. If only I had a garage which this Town & Country could fit into, I would honestly be terribly tempted.
At 119,000 Danish kroners – which currently equates to roughly £ 14,600 or Euro 16,000 – it’s certainly a lot of pounds for you buck. Here’s the link to the selling dealer in Denmark:
http://www.ez-biler.dk/biler/brugte-biler//vis/264600844/Chrysler-New-Yorker-7.2-Town-Country-5d
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us inspire by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk